Pope Leo is ‘open enough and smart enough’ to have changed his views on homosexuality, says Irish priest who worked with him in Peru

Fr Peter Hughes said he believed Leo would follow Pope Francis’ lead in a softening of tone toward LGBTQ+ people

Fr Peter Hughes. Photo: John Corless

Sarah Mac Donald

An Irish priest who has worked with Pope Leo in Latin America believes the new pontiff is “smart enough and open enough” to have allowed his opinion on homosexuality to have changed since his controversial 2012 comments.

Fr Peter Hughes is a Columban Missionary who has worked in Peru since 1966 and was a friend of Pope Leo’s, the first American to ever lead the Catholic Church, when he was Bishop of Chiclayo in the Latin American country.